Opening Ceremony's Fall Show Featured Cool-Girl Coats and 4,000 Pounds of Chocolate

Each year, Opening Ceremony, whose brand DNA is partly based on global discovery and exploration, chooses a different country to celebrate and collaborate with on various projects. In 2014, OC is fêting Belgium, and this inspiration came through in the most delicious ways possible at the label's fall show.

Walking into the venue on Sunday night, guests were immediately handed a custom bar of Belgian chocolate -- two of which contained "Golden Tickets" that the lucky show goers could redeem for new Opening Ceremony-designed Intel smart bracelets -- and that wasn't where the sweet surprises ended. As the models walked the runway, 4,000 pounds of Callebaut chocolate was poured down the walls -- which were carved to look like the shape of a fingerprint -- that filled the space with an intoxicatingly yummy aroma. To further amp the Willy Wonka factor, editors (including myself) couldn't help but channel their inner Augustus Gloop and taste the melty goodness on the way out of the venue.

Now, onto the clothes: As usual, Opening Ceremony has cornered the market on what the cool girls will be wearing come fall. Design duo Carol Lim and Humberto Leon incorporated their Belgian inspiration into the collection in a subtle way: The hand and fingerprint motif that's seen throughout was inspired by a Belgian myth about a solider who cut off his hand after defeating a giant (the name Antwerp means "hand throwing"), the quilted texture seen in a number of pieces was loosely based on the shape of a Belgian waffle and the asymmetry and oversized silhouettes were a nod to the unique style and architecture of Antwerp.

The standout pieces were the coats, in a wide range of shapes and lengths. Some were classic -- long, tailored versions in wool -- while others looked more high-tech, with double zippers and a mix of materials. Also, keep your eyes peeled for the sweaters and jackets printed with hands -- we're betting that those will top a number if "It" girls' shopping lists next season.

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Go big or go home. That was definitely the mentality behind Opening Ceremony's first-ever runway show, held at SuperPier 25 on the West Side Highway.
And we mean big in every sense of the word. The show's space was the size of a football field. Celebrities like Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Russell Westbrook sat front row. And everybody got a freaking cronut in their gift bag.
Then there's what happened on the runway.

Opening Ceremony's fall 2012 collection picks up where spring left off. There are no cats and things are a little less flirty and sweetly feminine, but still lots of fun, if a bit more sleek and sophisticated than past collections.

Just because Carol Lim and Humberto Leon are now busy turning Kenzo into the coolest brand around, it doesn't mean they've forgotten about the line that started it all or that their creative energy is spent. Their latest collection for Opening Ceremony is filled with as many fun, lust-worthy pieces as we've come to expect from the talented duo. Not that it's predictable--we never know what Lim and Leon are going to do next--only that it won't be boring and we're going to want it all.
The inspiration for spring 2012 was summer music festivals in England, Argentina and the U.S. and we bet we'll be seeing a lot of these clothes on the backs of stylish revelers at those very festivals next year. The '90s definitely have a presence here via babydoll silhouettes, crop tops, metallic silver pants, plaid miniskirts, varsity jackets, lots of matching tops and bottoms and off-the-shoulder body con dresses.
However, our favorite part the collection, which should come as no surprise, is the cat faces. As we've learned, the best way to make something better is to cover it with cats. And that is what they've done here.

Last night, Opening Ceremony threw a block party on Howard Street (where their flagship is located) to celebrate the stateside launch of Kim Jones' collaboration with Bean Pole, a South Korean retailer. Thus, the party was sort of Korean-themed with a Korean taco truck and cocktails made with soju. To round out the block party vibe, Brooklyn MC Theophilus London performed to a fashionable crowd that included Shala Monroque, Jen Brill, Phil Oh, and Rachel Chandler. Even new Kenzo creative directors (and Opening Ceremony co-founders) Humberto Leon and Carol Lim made time to stop by.
The always stylish and multi-talented Solange Knowles was also there and joined London on stage for two songs after doing a three-hour DJ set. Even though she was probably pretty exhausted from all that, Solange, who is becoming a regular here on Fashionista, was nice enough to chat with us briefly after her awesome performance. Here's what she had to say about dj'ing, stealing clothes from her sister and doing a clothing line.